The Unknown of Master Mantis
by Cookie M 2012
Summary: Coming to a Master's background, we only know what struggle he had to face before becoming a legendary heroic member of the Furious Five. Not much is known about Master Mantis... until he decided to open up.
1. Chapter 1

_**1**_

 _For years, no one ever really shared their stories with every member in the Palace... that, until Po came along. Before then, one member always had another member or two to confide in- whatever they wanted to talk about was always fell onto caring, listening ears, and kept save under the lock and key, and nothing was said unless it was in desperate need to. You'd think it'd take a while for them to open up. You're correct if you thought of it this way._

 _For Viper, she felt it was best if she spoke to Tigress about anything. Not just because she was the only other female inhabiting the Palace, but the little snake got a trustworthy vibe... and being from an old fashioned family, where the mother, or sister would be the number one go-to in times of need. You'd imagine what I'm trying to say in longer sentences, that Viper could only trust another female with her problems... or certain problems. Personally, in her opinion, she was far too embarrassed to talk to the other guys about certain... issues, only Tigress could answer or relate to, and was always happy coming out of their conversations._

 _Monkey had Crane... more for advice on future... jokes, on certain members of the palace. Crane knew when it would be okay or not. If it wasn't for the avian, Monkey would've been dead by every member in the palace years ago, if he went ahead with the honey bath prank..._

 _Crane had Viper about his family problems. His relationship with his father wasn't always the best as he was barely home when the bird grew up, while the relationship he walked away from his mother was almost toxic if he stayed there. She was too protective, and nearly died when he brought his first girlfriend home. She felt replaced, and tried to control what they did. It destroyed the avian's relationship with the first girl he had ever been with. It took a long time, but with Viper's help, he was able to restore his relationship with her, but at the healthy level it should've been._

 _Po went to each off them about everything. He didn't just have one person to talk to. Simple._

 _Shifu was always a private man, but lent an ear to Po in his troubles... and complaints._

 _But there's always someone who takes longer to come out of the shell, and it's usually the very faults of their past that made it hard to surface. By now you should one person on your mind..._

 _And it may not be who you're thinking!_

 _Tigress had Viper, Crane, and Po. For Viper and Crane, they were able to keep their chats private and confidential, even from each other. As for Po, they had a lot of things in common. Both had been adopted, but led very different lives until Po came to the Palace. Even as an adult, Tigress tended to think about the who's, the why's, and what could've been different if she was never left at the orphanage. Po would support her on that with his own experience, but once commented that for both of them, they may have never came to the Palace. At the same time, Tigress commented she'd have more compassion and feelings to everyone, which Po did agree too. However, he ensured her that he, and the others wouldn't of wanted her in any different way._

 _When it came to Mantis, he... surprisingly enough, was a mystery. He was actually mute about almost everything..._

* * *

Po pointed this out one morning when the bug decided to sleep in and skip breakfast, for the _third_ time that week, and much to Po's worry, Mantis reassured him that everything was fine. No one pushed themselves upon the insect with anymore questions, and Po was dragged along so he couldn't pester Mantis any further.

No one listened to Po until then, and his statement made almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Tigress continued to eat her tofu cubes, as if the Panda said nothing at all, but she did look up right on cue. Crane looked up at the same time, but he stopped eating, and then they all exchanged quick, silent glances.

"Oh _come on,_ _"_ Po was close to sounding like a whining child. "Don't you think he has more to say?" He looked out the window with a curious sparkle in his eyes. "You know, more than his secret to mastering chat up lines?"

Viper laughed. "So saying a girl is 'the dumpling to my eye' is the top of all pick up lines?" Crane and Monkey immediately burst into laughter, recalling the time when Po tried to chat up Tigress on a dare. How he didn't lose his two front teeth _then,_ or now only able to walk in a different stretch of time than the _recent?_ Everyone thought it was a whole miracle in itself. "I wouldn't call that _'mastering'_ sweetie..."

Po chuckled, before smiling at Tigress nervously, when she raised an eyebrow, and crossed her arms, leaning back into her chair. She had a smirk on her face, but her eyes were fixed with slight annoyance.

"Anyways... seeing that we go to Mantis..." He paused when he felt Tigress, Crane, and Viper looking at him. "I mean... seeing that _two,_ of us go to Mantis... isn't it strange he doesn't come to us when he needs to talk?"

Crane, Viper and Monkey shot the panda a look of touché, and then looked at Tigress. The feline sighed and stood up. "Start respecting his privacy, call me when you're ready." And with that, she was up and out of the room.

* * *

Tigress was walking towards the corner that guided her towards the bedrooms, and Mantis' closed, unlit door was slowly materializing in sight. She felt the sun's afternoon warmth crawling along the dark floorboards, and slowly crawling along the board until it was at the tips of her shoes. It was humid, benign, and welcoming... even better when you stood directly into the light, but even the lovely weather could have the other inhabitants dying from the heat, and the doors were always slightly open in order for the air that couldn't feel to come in and travel around to drag out any sweat, or unwelcoming smells that usually plagued the hallway.

The silence was unusually dissettling today, and she couldn't shake it away. Her eyes were drawn to one door.

Master Mantis.

She was just about to reach out to knock, but the sliding sound got there before her. Mantis watched her between the crack, and she saw him. "Tigress?" He said.

"Mantis." She gave a nod. "Is everything okay?"

The insect was only starting to nod, when he gradually stopped, sighed, and whispered. "Can I... talk to you?" Tigress paid more attention to the tone in his voice than the words that fell out of his mouth. He sounded tense, serious, and on edge. "In private?"

She looked up the hall, to make sure no one was lurking about. "Of course you can..." The insect opened the door a little wider, but then left it for her to open, and he backed up into his room, rotating his body and crawling back towards his small mat. He waited on his bed until she was in, and without having to ask, she shut the door. Turning on her heel, she wandered quietly, until she was knelling in front of him; on one knee, with her right forearm resting atop of that. "Is everything okay?"

Mantis' lips twitched a little off to the side. "I don't know... maybe if you answer my question, it can be..."

Tigress' head began to unbalance itself from the rest of her body, itching a little off to the left. That tone was a little tense; his voice sounded like it was going to break soon. There was a pause between his words, and a bit of a drag at the end, like he wanted to say more... but something was stopping him, but Tigress wasn't sure what it was. Could it have been Anxiety? He tended to get one or two tiny (not meant to be a pun :p) unwanted visits from that demon. _Maybe it was,_ she thought pensively. _But it could have something else put into the mix..._

"Is it your fault if you let someone so close to you... go?"

Tigress leaned forward a little. "In... what way, exactly?"

Mantis swallowed back twice the amount of saliva to get the words out.

 _"Is it your fault... if you let someone so close to you... to let them die?"_

* * *

 **Hope you like it so far.**

 **More coming soon :)**

 _ **Ciao!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

This caught Tigress by surprise.

"Die?" She whispered, like she didn't hear, or didn't want to believe it. The insect nodded slowly, his jaw tightened, and his pincers folded over one another. "Um... it depends... what happened?"

Mantis held his head in his pincers. "His name was Kǎi wén,and he was my best friend. We both went through a lot, including the fact our moms ate our dad's heads before we were both born..." Tigress smiled a little at that remark; how many times has he mentioned his Mother eating his Father's head before he was born since the day he arrived as a student in the palace? Or mentioning a female _eating_ his head before? "We were inseperable, and the trouble we caused..." He gave a small chuckle, making Tigress smile again. "We cause so _much_ , it would get to the point where there were very few times it wasn't our fault and _still_ got blamed for it..."

"Was he supportive?" Tigress asked inquisitively.

"Oh yeah! Always! He was my number one man..." The insects smile began to fade. "His mom passed away when we were both sixteen, and my mom said he could stay with us until he could get back onto his feet. He took the offer, and soon, we began our training to become doctors with her as our teacher. Two years down the line, we had access to all the different medicine..." his pincers crossed over his chest slowly. "Just as a medicine called oxycontin was introduced to our village."

Tigress felt her teeth grip onto the inside of her lip slowly. She didn't like where this was going. He didn't even mention any additional information of Kai Wen, but she felt like she had gotten hold of it.

"Oxycontin is used to treat moderate to severe pain that is expected to last for an extended period of time. OxyContin is used for _around-the-clock treatment_ of pain... for those who really need it. Think back when you pushed Po out of the way of the-"

"I get it..." she cut in.

"Okay... well, patients in your situation would be the ones that actually need it, while others... not so much, unless they can convince us that we could cure a pain in the tooth with that. As for Kai Wen, I don't know _how_ he started, but just one day... he was taking it. He complained about mega back pains or something before... that's when everything goes misty. After what seemed like bit long to have him still being on it, I asked what he was doing."

"And the response?"

"He said he was treating his pain, but he was asked to do some 'experimenting'... but what I didn't know it involved new friends of his. Friends of which I've met before, _but_ they were bad. I knew it the minute I saw them." Mantis jaw tightened so his mouth didn't open a lot when he spewed words. "The trend of Oxycontin addiction began. You could go to a healer and buy it without any proof of actually needing it. It was so _easy to get."_ Mantis crawled over to a cabinet, and took out a box. Inside... was the medicine.

"Are you taking it?" Tigress felt her muscles tensing up. "Mantis..."

"No, I'm not using it... I'd never... I did when we returned from Gongmen city. But I actually _needed_ it, so I took it. Other then that... it sits in there until I need it again... which I hope isn't soon." Mantis threw the box back in the cabinet. "You know I still operate as a doctor... right?"

"Yes. You volunteer in the hospital in the Valley." How charitable and caring of him, she thought.

"Yeah... I see people coming in everyday, trying to get their grip onto the damn oxycontin." Mantis held his head. "They claimed they're in pain... I used to get in trouble for not perscribing them it. I try telling them it isn't necessary, they weren't dying... I've tried to tell them what happened to Kǎi wén... but no one listens!" Tears began to spill out of his eyes, as Tigress felt her paw slowly cover her mouth to stop herself from gasping. "He _died_ because of that poison. But no one took my side, they said that oxycontin can't do no such thing- they were too busy focusing on their money... instead of what permanent damage it could cause..." Aburptly, Mantis gave a cry of frustration, and jumped at the concrete wall. Tigress jumped up to stop him, but he collided with the stone, and a crack formed from the very area he hit. Falling to the ground, he roared as he started things around; candles, essence sticks, his bed, and soon enough...

 _Smash!_

A glass jar.

That stopped him on the exact spot, staring at the wall in blinded fury, inhaling and exhaling air so quickly he felt light headed. What didn't stop him, was _what_ collided with the glass jar. He heard Tigress stand up and leave the room, and when he turned around to face the destruction he created... and stared at the red puddle that was out of shape on the wooden floor. "What the..." He began to whisper.

"Is everything alright down there?" Viper called.

"Yeah." Tigress called back, from further down the hall, possibly her room. "I just dropped something."

Realisation hit Mantis when he heard Tigress, fuelling him with the urge to run. He did so; down the hall, and to her open door, and watched her sitting on her bed, staring down at her paw... coated in red; glistening, weeping it's tears of blood, only starting to wrap a bandage around it when she noticed him staring from the doorway. She partially clenched her fist, which only led to more blood to pump out of the cut; located in the centre of her palm, and ended at the heel of her paw.

"Tigress?" She looked up sharply, clamping her paw into a tight fist in order to hide the cut. "I..."

She pulled her paw to her side, and faced the wall, glaring a little. "I'm fine." She said, her voice wobbling, planting her paw on her shoulder, almost she was holding her shoulder, or ready to do a back paw strike if he came close. "I-I just dropped something."

"No..." Mantis said quietly, blood boiling a little. "I threw a _jar_ at you..."

"No, you didn't," she said thickly.

"I _did."_ He gasped, crawling towards her when the blood began to stain her sleeve, and trickle down her arm. "Here, let me stitch you up..."

* * *

 **Hope you like it guys! Please review and tell me what you think :3**

 **Ciao!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Back in Mantis' room...**

Sitting up in her bed, Tigress stared at the wall, eye narrowly blinking or twitching everytime she sense the pinch and tug of the needle stitching up her cut. After a while, when he started to wrap her paw up, she looked down at him. "You were just upset," Tigress stated thickly, catching his attention at the sound of her audible breath. "I understand-"

The bug just shook his head, ignoring her completely. "I can't believe I got so mad... I hurt you."

"No, you didn't... I can't feel, remember?"

Mantis raised a brow suspiciously. "Yet... you understand _how_ I feel?"

Tigress raised one back. "Of course; what I meant was that I can't feel physical pain, but even if someone is like me they suffer pain and loss and anger like everyone else; through tears."

Mantis chuckled stiffly. "You... too?" He didn't sound comvincing.

"Well. I'm mostly known for letting it out... more physically."

"Say no more," he only had to say that, and soon he and Tigress started laughing; well, more of stiffened chuckles then that of full on tear-jerking laughter. "But seriously," he said after a minute. "Have you ever... cried? That's a mystery I'm trying to find out."

Tigress smirked evilly. "That's a secret that will _never_ come to surface." She laughed a little louder when he pouted like a spoiled child. "At least... not until you solve the cold case yourself."

"Deal."

Silence. "Mantis..."

"Mmm?"

"I'm sorry for going a bit far... I shouldn't have asked you-"

Mantis started to shake his head firecely. "It's not your fault." He said. "I could see the curiousity... but I feel I should talk about my... mental state, with others, to make it better, you know? Besides..." He bowed his head a little as he tightened the knot. "You're the only one I've ever told about Kai Wen..."

"Am I?"

"Yeah... like you, I'm private about a lot of things... or at least... I can't find a way to talk to someone about it." Mantis folded his pincers in annoyance. "How can you bring it up in conversation? I mean, I know when people get very honest, they say it late a night, when a new day begins... before the sun arrives for what is considered as the start of a day. I could never find a way to talk to anyone without making it sound so random..."

Tigress thought for a moment as her paw moved upwards, letting her other one to carrass it with her other non injured one. "Maybe..." she said slowly. "There is..."

* * *

Two days later, as Tigress' paw was slowly moving along the mending road, Mantis was called out during training. Shifu had been watching him during the morning session, briefly talking to Tigress on the sidelines before she began her stretches on the roof beams. Mantis glanced at them, but didn't think much of it. Tigress told everyone that she dropped a jar, and the glass caught her paw while the sharpnel flew around the room. They seemed to believe it, seeing no one gav it a second gander, apart from the occasional 'hope it's a quick recovery' or 'let's hope Shifu let's you still traing in some shape or form with that'. However, speaking of Shifu, the bug was unsure whether he would buy Tigress' story. Would he know she wouldn't be clumsy enough? Would he go along with it, or could this be why he called Mantis out?

"Yes Master Shifu?" Mantis asked.

"I'd like to ask what happened yesterday."

The bug hung his head in shame. "Master, I perfusely apologize; I didn't mean to throw the jar at Tigress." He paused. "Well, I was _meant_ to throw it, but not at her-"

"I got the same story from her too, and I know she has told the others something different... but easy to buy. But I just wanted to make sure she wasn't really covering up any... abuse."

Mantis laughed, before clearing his throat, and excusing himself for acting silly. "No offense Master, but if I had any intention to abuse Tigress... my ass would be kicked til I was inable to sit down for a week, if I merely _thought_ of doing that... and I'm speaking on the others' behalf; they'd have Tigress' back if anything like that were to be inflicted by anyone... they're good people."

"That being the very reason they are still in the palace as warriors..." Shifu glanced at Po and the others, watching Tigress do her stretches, and cringe when she nearly loses her grip during a pull up, immediately blaming her damaged paw. Mantis watched as she struggled at first, beads of sweat beginning to dampen her forehead, and forcing herself to do a pull-up with a single paw, and resuming.

"You okay Tigress?" Po called up to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." she stopped after about four more pull ups, and landed almost gracefully on the ground. Noticing Mantis and Shifu were watching her, she inspected the fabric briefly with a twist of her paw. "I thought I ripped the stitches."

"Did you?" Viper asked.

"No."

"That's good." They all started at different stations, allowing Mantis and Shifu to keep talking.

"Anyways, I also wanted to let you know, that you and Tigress are expected to go on a mission. You leave at sundown." Shifu stated, letting his paws latch onto each other gently beneath his long draping sleeves.

"What's the issue?"

"Tigress should have the information for you," and with that, Shifu motioned towards the others. "She'll explain later. You may proceed your training, and meet with Master Tigress outside the Hall of Heroes at sundown."

"Yes Master Shifu," the bug bowed, and waited until the older master to exit.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Sorry for the wait, and for this being so short! Hope you like it!**

 **Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

At sundown, Mantis was settled on the feline's shoulder as they trekked through the bamboo forest silently. The given length of the journey didn't feel far, but when it came to the moment that he somehow ran out of topics to discuss his views on, the world around him was almost a standstill if it wasn't for his inner thoughts. Tigress has told him little about the where's, but no valuble information on the who's, what's and the why's.

 _ **Who's** in trouble? Who is involved?_

 _ **Why** are we the only two going? Why aren't the others here with us?_

 _ **What** if something happens to us while we're here and we're short of people?_

 _..._

 ** _What is going on?_**

"Tigress?"

"Yes?"

"Where are we going? Saying 'out of the valley' isn't telling me anything about what threat we are up against here, ya know?" Tigress merely glanced at him, before looking straight ahead, continuing to walk. Mantis asked again, sounding more annoyed, but sensing that Tigress would snap through her tensing muscles, told him to sit tight and see for himself, he sighed softly, and looked behind him, where the Valley of Peace was shrinking away from his sight.

* * *

They made it. They were... home?

Not the Valley of course, but his _hometown_ , before he went to the Valley as a doctor, and soon enough, Master Mantis from the Furious Five.

Memories came flooding through him as they moved past familiar places; like Mr Ding's house, where he spent his days listening to that (now) old man's days in the war, just after he returned, Mrs Yu's bakery, where his mother sent him to fetch the bread once a week, and community school... where he and Kǎi wén spent their days dreaming for something more adventurous, messing around at the back of the classroom, and getting into trouble over little things.

"Kǎi wén..." he whispered softly, before straightening up. "Hey, Tigress... is this mission immediate?"

Tigress stopped in the middle of the market center, where many people recognized and made their way over to welcome them. "No..." she spoke slowly, before a child grabbed hold of her paw, chattering crazily for attention. "Why ask?"

"I... I gotta do something... it's important."

"Alone?"

"No... I'd like to show you something." With a soft nod, they excused themselves from the crowd, asking to be alone. Once the wish was granted and the villagers dispersed, Mantis leapt off Tigress' shoulder, the ground hard under his feet when he landed. It was was leveled, and after being perched on Tigress' shoulder for so long, which moved as her arms swung back and forth while she walked, the ground was suddenly so still his nearly fell off. Once he steadied himself, he motioned her to follow. She did, and they walked between two houses, and followed a cobble stone path into a small patch of bamboo trees, and local flowers. Tigress moved along in silence, unsure where they were going, yet putting her complete trust into Mantis, and his choice to show her what he desired her to see...

Some time later, they reached an area absent of villagers beside a pond, on the east side of the Village. It was fenced off, with candles, pots, fruit, and gold coins loitering around a few pebbles. Tigress didn't have to second guess where they were.

They were at a graveyard.

Many of the graves with simple, but some were poised and spoke with high authority with their height, symbols, and presence. Plots were even bought to secure a resting place for families, or just single ones for the mothers, fathers, partners, and even children that were lost. There were places in the graveyard sectioned off for age groups, genders, wealth, and the family plots. Tigress just shook her head at the thought of the different social classes in society and the subject of death. It makes no difference who you are; everyone is going to be under the same dirt, whether your wealthy or poor. Some stone that states your name should only show mourners where you were, not how financially stable you were.

"Over there," Mantis crawled over to a sectioned wall, away from the other clumps of tombstones. Upon the wall, there were pictures of people, staring at Tigress as she neared Mantis, watching everywhere she was going, like they were making sure she would do anything indiscriminate, or something that was out of her normal character. One that she kept staring at was one that Mantis placed a pincer against, smiling weakly as he bowed his head, so it was touching off the picture. Tigress' brows began to knit together, and knelt down, taking in the details of the person in the painting; a prey mantis, just Mantis, but a darker shade, darker eyes... and darker demeanor was pressed upon him.

" Kǎi wén." Tigress whispered, balancing herself by gently imprinting her fist into the ground she was on.

"Yep..." Mantis' pincer patted against the picture. "Good to see him again..." lifting his head, his facade hidden away from Tigress' view, he added. "It's been a while buddy... a _long_ time til I came to see you... forgive me." Tigress looked around, and spotted a clump of white flowers growing against the wall. There weren't any graves situated against the wall, so she figured it they were wild. Standing up slowly, she swiftly moved towards the flowers, with Mantis still by the grave, not moving his head. He sensed her movement, but his eyes didn't move off the spot on the ground he had them fixed on.

Tigress bent down and gently removed the flowers from the ground, and retraced her steps. Once she was in the same position she was before seeing the flowers, she placed them down. Only then, Mantis looked up at them, as Tigress' paw pulled itself away from the stems. "They're really pretty..." he spent more time studying them. "Are they-"

"White chrysanthemums," she finished his sentence with a smile. "I always thought they were beautiful flowers, next to the blossoms that grow on the tree back home in the palace..."

"Yeah, same here..." Mantis proceeded to pass some of the time by pushing the flowers closer to the stone, until it was lightly pressing against it. Brushing out the petals gently, he added softly. "Kǎi wén was never one to care for flowers... unless he was getting it for a girl, or someone who gave him one meant well... only he accepted them as a deep and meaningful token to get from or give to someone..." Standing up, Mantis backed away, his gaze stuck on the tombstone. "Now... I think we should get going..."

"Why so soon?" Tigress gently moved Mantis back towards Kǎi wén's grave. "I said the mission isn't immediate. I feel you need to stay a little longer."

Mantis shook his head as he backed away from the tombstone. "No... I-"

"Like you said yourself," Tigress spoke more sincerely. "It's been a while since you last came to see him..." and with that, Tigress brought her paw up against his back, and physically urged him forward. "Mantis... you need this. Take your time." Mantis turned, glancing up at her. "Go on... I'll give you time alone." Tigress stood up, and walked away with a gentle sweep of her tail, telling him to meet her in the community centre. Mantis wanted to argue, but instead, watched her leave, and once she was out of sight, he turned back to face the grave. It took a moment or two, before he found his head against the cold stone, tears spilling out of his eyes in sequences. The good memories came flooding in first, thus a tear swept out of his right eye. Then... came the news he never wanted to hear so soon... out came a tear from his left eye. Soon, the feeling of helplessness overcame him, and both eyes released.

Little did he know, Tigress lean out from behind the wall, feeling her hear tug at the sight of his inner suffering.


	5. Chapter 5

Mantis found Tigress some time later, right where she said she'd be. The sun shone a bit brighter, reflecting off her as a villager had her attention with question after question. Mantis stood a few feet away, waiting for the two to finish. Once the villager walked away, Tigress nodded in the insect's direction, before motioning him to follow her... inside the community center. Slightly confused, Mantis followed her in at a steady pace, only to see an empty hall once the door closed. "What the hell?" He thought aloud. "Where'd she-"

A goose in a white tunic poked his head from around the corner, making him jump. "Master Mantis? A thousand welcomes! Long time no see! The meeting starts in five minutes."

"Meeting? Wh-"

"I'd suggest you get a bite to eat before hand. You look famished." The goose interrupted, pointing somewhere Mantis wasn't paying attention to. "Beverages are laid out just in the room on your left, and you care allowed to bring in tea, just wipe up any spills. Enjoy." And then he was gone.

Mantis just blinked dumbfoundedly. "Woah-kay..." he just wandered past the room, only to retake his steps to find the Tigress inside, sitting by the window, pulling out a red jewel of her pocket. "Tigress?"

She looked up, and nodded. "Yes, come in." He obeyed, and stared at her as she tightened her grip on the jewel, shutting her eyes. No one else was there with them, to witness a bright glow taking up a fraction of the room, consuming Tigress... and soon, in her place was a rabbit; small, petite, porcelain, with the same big brown eyes that blinked once or twice, before checking herself over. Buck teeth, floppy ears, cotton tail... yep, everything Tigress wasn't.

"Uh..." She looked up at see Mantis just looking at her, discombobulated. "What _are_ you doing?"

The rabbit jumped off the seat, and walked towards the table. Making herself a cup of tea, she replied; "I need to... just, call me by anything else when we go in, okay?"

* * *

More confused than he was coming into the building, he followed Tigress into a large hall, where a group of strangers sat on meditation cushions, in a circle, sipping tea and chatting away. Tigress glanced at Mantis, who crawled beside her, still trying to get used to her new facade. Rather than calling him out on it, she scooped him up and sat him down on a cushion. "Remember to-"

"Yeah, I got it..." Mantis kept looking at her, trying to think of a name to address her with while she was... this. The goose from earlier on came up and bowed to him, asking if he wanted tea. He had forgotten all about it, and almost everyone in the circle were sipping away. Although he had no idea what was going on, he nodded. "Please, and one for Ms Amber Lao here." He gestured at Tigress, and she looked at him when the goose left.

"What?" She whispered.

"Amber Lao... that's your _name_ , right?" He put just enough emphasis on the name for her to catch onto his method, and nodded slowly, smiling a little. She sat beside him, the skirt part of her attire sprawling out on her cushion. Her outfit consisted of a dress printed with flowers like her usual tunic, but the spaces not filled by flowers were colored with gold. Mantis tilted his head to the side slightly, observing the details of 'Amber Lao'. She was almost everything that was different to Tigress; beside her eyes always looking at something else in the room (in case of danger maybe), she was almost mute; only speaking when she was spoken to by Mantis himself or any one sauntering past her. Her smile was almost forced, and her paws were in a continuous, tight clump, even when she got her tea at long last. "Em... you okay?" He asked finally.

"Yes." Something always within Tigress was her short, direct answers.

"Is this..." he gestured at her. Amber Lao nodded quickly, before he gave a quick 'ah! I was wondering'. _Different, but definitely part of an act,_ the insect thought. Amber just smiled at him, before there was suddenly silence, and a a goat stood, raising his hand.

"Might I ask for silence until we start discussing our views?" He asked, his beard bobbing in time with the words his spoke.

"Yes." Said everyone else.

"Thank you," the goat fixed his white coat, a complete contrast to his brown fur. "As many of you know, my name is Li Bao. I am a doctor in this area, and along with many of the other doctors here," all the obvious characters waved timidly. "We all share the same mission. With the help of information from some of our guests here, we can work together a plan that should soon allow us hopefully drop the amount of Oxycontin users." Mantis gasped, and looked up at Amber, who nodded at him.

"Here's your chance to have your say." She whispered. "I spoke to Shifu, and he granted permission to come here."

Mantis was still speechless, but when he realized everyone in the room had their eyes on him, he slowly stood. "Master Mantis of the Jade Palace," Li bowed to him. "It's an honor for you to join us."

"It's an honor to be here with like minded people." Mantis quickly replied, bowing back at him.

"As you were a doctor before a Kung Fu Master-"

"He's still a doctor." Amber piped up, slicing through Li's words. Instead of continuing, he looked at the female rabbit questioningly. "I too am from the Valley of Peace, and Mantis has volunteered in the village hospital many times; and I was even in his care once."

Mantis nodded at her gratefully. "Yes, but I have only come across the prescription of Oxycontin on a few occasions, compared to what I have seen here in my own hometown."

Li narrowed his eyes slightly. "In what cases have you distributed the substance?" Everyone else muttered amongst themselves, saying Gods' knows.

"In the case of the Jade Palace, the Kung Fu Masters, including myself had to take it due to the harrowing injuries we gained in the battle with Lord Shen. Master Tigress, a prime example, had a larger dose than I, and not just because she has a larger body mass than I; as she pushed the Dragon Warrior out of the weapon's center path."

Doctors and common folk around them nodded in agreement. "Is she, and the other Masters, off the substance now?"

"Yes."

"But what about those down in the Valley?" A goose asked, sitting on Li's left side.

"They _have_ tried to get the substance for any illness in the book; from a migraine, to a toothache."

"As to be expected."

"But I have _never_ given Oxycontin to anyone within the Valley since my assistance in the hospital or clinics, as none of the patients in my care never needed it." Everyone praised him, until one person asked why he never gave in. Other than what he said, he told the group about his best friend, who mixed with the wrong crowd. "He called it 'experimenting', as well as treating his bad back. It soon led him down a shorter path. I regret every day of my life where I didn't stop him, and thank myself for not giving into anyone."Many were moved by his story, and soon others shared their own stories; the lost of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, partners, extended relatives, best friends, and even their own children.

"Mrs Lao," Mantis looked at Amber nod at Li, signalling he had her undivided attention. "You too have to goal to stop this trend?"

"I do." She replied. "My father was once a user, after a horrific accident, he was given Oxycontin to numb the pain. However, it took him some time to get off it..." A tear rolled down her cheek, and Mantis felt his heart twist. This was all part of the act... right? "I'm thankful he found it within himself to fight it, but I wish, and I prayer, everyday that more people, like my father, will push past the addiction."

She spoke more, but Mantis looked into it a lot more than what he considered, not doing, and ignored the rest of her words. Shifu gained the painful limp in his character when he lost Tai-Lung; that swipe Tai-Lung attacked with, left Shifu with a displaced hip, and a broken leg that never mended. A source of pain Mantis himself has gone through... but he walked away miraculously without any long term impacts.

It was sunset by the time the meeting had ended. Many voices spoke, and worked together on many ideas and potential projects to work on helping those in need... but Mantis had more on his mind.

When the time was right; as they walked outside the village after placing proper flowers on Kǎi wén's grave, Amber Lao took out the crystal, and grasped onto it tightly, shutting her eyes. As soon as the glow died down, and Tigress returned, Mantis leapt up onto her shoulder, wrapping his pincers gently around her neck, making her stare down at him in surprise. Before she could say anything to him, soft, mellow sobs filled her ears.

"Thank you..." He whispered.

Tigress smiled as her paw reached up to him, and pressed down on his gently. "It's was needed..." her intake of air was shakened slightly. "We both needed it."

* * *

 **And there's another story finished XD**

 **Hope you like it guys! Please review!**


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